Warren County budget process continues with requests from outside agencies: House of Hope, Friends of the Shenandoah River, Concern Hotline

Michelle Smeltzer from the House of Hope makes her presentation to the Board of Supervisors. Photo and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors held work session with outside agencies regarding the FY 2020-2021 budget on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

Royal Examiner will follow the process over the next few weeks. In this first session, 15 outside agencies presented their request to the Board of Supervisors. In this first meeting, Supervisor Tony Carter  was absent – sick as well as Archie Fox. No word on why he missed the meeting. Supervisors Walt Mabe, Cheryl Cullers and Delores Oates, along with Doug Stanley and Bob Childress attended.

• In part 1, Blue Ridge Opportunities, The Warren Coalition and the Phoenix Project presented their requests to the Board of Supervisors.
• In part 2, you heard from Blue Ridge Legal Services, Inc, Northern Virginia 4-H and Samuels Public Library. And in part 3, the House of Hope, Friends of the Shenandoah River, and the Concern Hotline presented their requests.

It’s interesting to hear the discussion and see the detail of what it takes to put a budget together. It’s a slow and long process, but necessary.

Watch the process on this exclusive Royal Examiner video:

House of Hope

House of Hope is a program for homeless men who are ready and committed to making a permanent change in their lives. House of Hope is a 24 hour facility at 724 Warren Avenue. It provides a continuum of care from Short-Term to a maximum Long-Term stay of 6 months. The residence has 16 beds, showers, food, clothing, and laundry facilities. Services include case management, consultation, job counseling and referrals as well as outreach and support on all levels, to nurture body, mind and soul.

Friends of the Shenandoah River

The Friends of the Shenandoah River is a volunteer, non-profit, scientific organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the Shenandoah River and its tributaries.

The group was founded in 1989 by a group of like-minded Shenandoah Valley citizens and scientists concerned about the rapid decline in water quality of their beloved Shenandoah River. While the fish kills of the 80’s and 90’s would not compare to those of the next decade (which depleted 80% of the adult smallmouth and sunfish populations), the danger signs were all too evident: industrial pollution from the Avtex Fibers plant; sediment and fertilizer runoff; livestock polluting the feeder streams; water turbidity; lesions and sores on fish; the stench of under-treated sewage. Clearly, action was needed, but where to begin? This nucleus of science-minded Friends knew just where to start—with the science.

Concern Hotline

Concern Hotline is a free 24/7/365 anonymous information & referral, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention hotline serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.